Tech

Fujifilm's Instax Wide 300 instant camera is way more fun than Instagram

Mashable Choice
highlights the best of everything we cover, have experienced first-hand and would recommend to others.

Dear Instagram: It's been great, but I'm breaking up with you for real instant photos.

OK, I'm not leaving Instagram (How could I? I love my Instagram), but I think my new fling with instant cameras has now peaked and I'm ready to take the next step and commit to this analog relationship.

Recently, I've been shooting photos with the Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 instant camera. The camera sells for $130 (but can be found for around $104 on Amazon at the time of this writing) and is the latest to introduce instant photography to a new generation who's grown up gushing over megapixels.

The Instax Wide 300 is what a modern Polaroid would probably look like if the company still made cameras that could shoot its iconic 600-type instant film.

The camera is the Instax Wide 210's replacement. Fujifilm ditched that camera's rounded curves and bubbly design for a two-tone black and silver look that's boxier and better resembles retro film cameras.

Unlike the retro-styled Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 I reviewed last year, the Instax Wide 300 is somewhat of an ugly duckling. In downsizing the dimensions of the Wide 210, the Wide 300 looks as if its camera components — grip/shutter button, lens, flash and viewfinder — were bolted onto the body during the last stage of the design process. The Wide 210 was bigger, but I think its design was more thought out.

Understandably, it's difficult to make an instant camera that shoots the company's Instax Wide instant film compact. The film itself measures 3.4 x 4.25 inches — twice the size of mini instant film.

Once you get over its plastic exterior, you'll instantly discover how fun instant photography is.

Camera basics

The Instax Wide 300 can hold a tray of 10 shots of Instax Wide instant film. To load the camera, you simply pop open the backdoor and drop the film in.

Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 review

Like Polaroids, but wider

The Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 is the company's latest instant camera. It sells for $130 and shoots "Wide" Instax film, is super simple to operate and has an old camera-inspired look that you'll either love or hate.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Chunky by design

There's no getting around the camera's chunkiness -- it's a necessary concession to house the wide format instant film.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Party camera

At the end of the day, the Instax Wide 300 is all about having fun, not having razor-sharp photos. So go ahead and take lots of photos. Some will come out blurry or overexposed, but the imperfections make them special.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Wide instant film

Be sure to buy the Wide type Instax film and not the mini.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Instant development

It's a real joy to see your photos developing before your very eyes.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Missing self-timer

One thing that's missing is a self-timer...for selfies or groufies.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Batteries included

The Instax Wide 300 uses four AA batteries. Luckily, they're included in the box!

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Portrait shooting

You'll mostly want to shoot in landscape (horizontal), but you can shoot in portrait (vertical) mode if you want. The photos will look a little weird, though.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Dropping film in

To load the instant film, just open the back door and drop it in. Simple!

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Focusing distance

Twist the ring on the lens and you can switch between two focusing distances -- one for closeups and one for landscapes.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Small-ish viewfinder

Compared to the now-discontinued Instax Wide 210, the Wide 300 has a smaller viewfinder, which can make framing shots a little harder.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

The instant camera's grip is sizable. There's two lugs on each side to attach a neck strap. The lens extends when you power it on; rotate its knurled ring and it switches focusing between two focusing distances: 2.95 feet to 9.84 feet and 9.84 feet to infinity.

Jutting out on the left side of the camera is the optical viewfinder. You can see fine through it, but it's smaller than the one on the Wide 210.

Inside of the grip is the battery compartment. The Instax Wide 300 uses four AA batteries. I have nothing against AA batteries, but I feel like the camera could have shed even more mass if Fujifilm went with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery like it did on the Mini 90.

100% analog fun

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

Like all instant cameras, the Instax Wide 300 is a great party camera. The photos will never be as crisp as the ones your smartphone takes, but they're full of character that will make you feel emotional every time you look at them and hold the physical photos in your fingers.

The Instax Wide 300 doesn't come with a myriad of bells and whistles. You press the button and the camera takes a photo. There's a powerfully bright flash that can help give everyone in the shot red eyes and a brightness button on the back for adjusting how light or dark you want a photo to look.

At first, I really wished it had some more shooting modes like the Mini 90, but then I remembered almost all of those modes were misses; the only mode I wish the Instax Wide 300 had was the self-timer.

The Instax Wide 300 uses wider instant film.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

What made Instagram so charming when it launched was how low-res the photos were. The filters (does anyone still use them anymore?) made photos look imperfect, filled with digital "film grain" and all kinds of artifacts. Today, Instagram is all about high-resolution images and original aspect ratios.

The photos you get from the Instax Wide 300 bring back those imperfections. You'll get blown-out shots, shots that aren't framed properly and blur, to name a few "effects," but that's part of the fun. You just don't ever know what you'll get until it develops.

Real social network

The awe of instant photography isn't merely in watching film develop in front of your eyes or being able to hold your photos but the social aspect afterwards.

On an instant photo, there's just enough room on the border to write a small message or make a tiny doodle. Unlike sharing a photo to Instagram or Facebook, there is no editing a comment after you've inked the photo. You have to really think about what you want to write.

The Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 instant camera is instant fun.

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

And though, I'm sure there are people who shudder at the idea of making silly doodles on top of the photos, I love it — like doodling on Snapchat photos before Snapchat was ever a thing.

Sharing an instant photo is a more intimate experience, too. Instead of tossing a photo up on a social network and hashtagging the hell of it (#instagood, #instamood, #IGers, etc. — come on!) and waiting desperately for the notifications to roll in telling you someone liked or favorited your photo, you simply give your photo to a friend or family in person. And since you're not sharing it with the Internet, you have to be selective with who you give your instant photos to.

The act of sharing an instant photo becomes more like gift-giving. Here's a photo for you to keep (hopefully forever) and cherish. I mean, who doesn't like receiving a gift? Exactly. Not only that, but the photo is a limited edition, if you will. It's the only one of its kind. Even if you take a duplicate shot, it's not the same one.

Instant fun

Image: Miles Goscha/Mashable

If the world was ending from a zombiepocalypse and I had to choose between a digital camera or the Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 instant camera, I would pick the instant camera.

OK, that's an extreme scenario that's unlikely to happen, but the instant camera is a ton of fun to use (like every instant camera is). There's something about not having an unlimited number of shots, the imperfections of instant photos, and the tangible film that makes it more valuable than a digital camera.

Unlike memory cards that fall in price and almost never increase from their original MSRP, Instax film prices constantly fluctuate. At the time of this review's publishing, a box of Instax Wide instant film with 20 sheets costs $16 on Amazon ($34 normally), the same price as a box of Instax Mini instant film also with 20 sheets ($20 normally).

At these discount prices, there's really never been a better time to get into instant photography.

Fujifilm Instax Wide 300

The Good

So easy to use • Shoots wide-format instant film • Useful light/Dark setting

The Bad

Small-ish viewfinder, Chunky design

The Bottom Line

The Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 is the perfect instant camera for a generation that's grown up on megapixels.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.